Shared space aids new life sciences ventures

Suites provide offices, labs along with key support services

A new incubator space for life science companies has opened in Kendall Square.

Mass Innovation Labs said Monday that it was opening an “accelerated commercialization space” for companies trying to bring their drugs and devices to market. There also are specialized services available in-house, such as help setting up research contracts and an animal testing and scientific support area run by Charles River Laboratories.

“Innovators are seeking a collaborative ecosystem that allows them to run as a lean organization and focus on the science with expert drug development partners down the hall,” Amrit Chaudhuri, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement. “By co-locating the resources a company needs from idea inception through commercialization, we facilitate troubleshooting and drive brilliant execution.”

The three-story space hosts 10 suites containing a mix of lab and office space ranging from 2,900 to 18,000 square feet. It is backed by Breed’s Hill Capital, a Charlestown firm, although the company will not say what the ownership stakes are.

The new co-working space joins Lab Central, a smaller nonprofit with a similar mission established in 2013. Mass Innovation Labs said its first tenant is CRISPR Therapeutics, a gene therapy company.